North-East Sport
Magpies keen to compete for the best around
8:00am Wednesday 22nd February 2012
NEWCASTLE UNITED are putting the finishing touches to plans that should ensure they are in a position to compete with the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City when it comes to recruiting young talent.
At the Premier League outfit's NU Academy training complex yesterday in Little Benton, academy manager Joe Joyce outlined the club's vision to increase their investment in their youth system.
Clubs across the country have to submit their applications to fall somewhere in a four-tier hierarchy of youth academies, which forms the main part of the new Elite Players Performance Plan, by March 31.
The Premier League will then conduct a four-day audit of clubs from April 10 onwards before deciding which category each club falls in to.
The scheme will change the face of youth football in England, altering the boundaries in place that enables clubs to attract clubs from around the country and beyond.
Those clubs who are granted Category 1 status will be in the strongest position and at Newcastle yesterday there was a clear admission that they will be doing everything they can to achieve that goal.
Tyne & Wear counterparts Sunderland are also pursuing the same status, while Middlesbrough's successful academy is still investigating whether they can come up with the financial figures required to be classed in the top bracket.
If Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough can highlight they are willing to invest £2.5m in their academies then that will go a long way towards sealing a place among the elite.
"It opens up the recruitment network," said Joyce, who will also be looking for his scouting network to bring in top overseas youngsters. "If we can provide an appropriate education programme, technical programme, appropriate accommodation, then we could take a player from anywhere in England.
"The owner (Mike Ashley) has geared up his plan for bringing in the best young players. We have to make sure we get the North-East's young best players tied up, but if there is a player from around the country then we have to make sure we are a big enough attraction to come here."
In the last few years, Ashley has increased investment in Newcastle's academy from £1m to £1.8m and he has already given the go-ahead to meet the £2.5m being suggested by the Premier League to be considered in the higher bracket of clubs in the EPPP.
It is all part of his grand plan to make Newcastle a more self-sufficient club, highlighted by his drive in recent seasons to cut down on spending big money on transfers which can put the club in debt.
"Football has to take a reality check and you can't keep spending £30m for a player," said Joyce. "Barcelona have shown that they can produce exceptional homegrown talent, even if that homegrown talent is from another country.
"More and more clubs have realised the transfer market has gone. We either have huge fees or no transfer fees at all. The production of your own homegrown talent has become a greater part of what English football is trying to do.
"Arguably the young players get greater opportunities at Football League clubs. Andy Carroll got his opportunity here in the Championship. But here we can also sell that young players get an opportunity in the first team."
During the tour of the NU Academy at Little Benton, Joyce showed off a DVD that highlighted the players to have come off the production line in recent seasons. Shola and Sammy Ameobi, Carroll, Tim Krul, James Tavernier, Haris Vuckic and Shane Ferguson.
But he is also aware of the huge number of young footballers that never make it on to the professional stage.
"We teach them all values of life as well as coaching them how to play football," said Joyce, who was in one classroom watching his players listening to a presentation from Show Racism The Red Card.
"But we also have to be aware of what else these kids might need. We have two classrooms, an IT suite and when they leave here the players will have an NVQ in Sports Science and a BTEC in Sporting Excellence, which is the equivalent of three A-levels."
The big one in the next couple of months for all of the North-East's leading three league clubs is to secure Category 1 status on the EPPP.
The Premier League are due to start auditing clubs from April 10 onwards, when assessments of clubs facilities, staffing and long-term plans will be taken in to account.
For those that are not categorised as they would like then they can appeal and every three years there can be attempts made to alter which of the four categories they fall in to.